CNN —The United Arab Emirates has invited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to attend the United Nations’ COP28 Climate Summit, which will take place from November 30 in Dubai. The UAE embassy in Damascus said in a post on Twitter on Sunday that Assad had received an invitation to attend COP28 from Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi. If Assad attends, it would be his first global summit since the start of the country’s brutal civil war in 2011, and could cause diplomatic tensions for countries which continue to impose sanctions on his regime. A COP28 spokesperson told Reuters in a statement this week: “COP28 is committed to an inclusive COP process that produces transformational solutions. This can only happen if we have everyone in the room.”In March, Assad visited the UAE on an official invitation for the first time since the Syrian civil war began.

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